Elevator



May 12, l1931. J, G. FITZPATRICK ET AL 1,804,758

ELEVATOR Filed Deo. 25, 1923V Patented May 12, 1931 ortica PAT JOSE-PH G. FITZPATRICK AND ROBERT W. FLINH'T, OFy ANAHEM, CALIFORNIA, AS.-

SIGNOES TO JOSEPH F. FLINT, OF LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA l ELEvATon Application filed December 23,1929. Serial No. 416,112.

AThis invention relates to an elevator for handling Well drilling tools and equipment. Elevators 4employed in vvell drilling rigs for handling drill pipe, casing, etc. are oper ated vertically in the derrickv through lines and traveling blocks. The usual method employed in arranging an elevator around a part standing in 'a de'rrick, is to position an operator in'an elevated place in the derrick to swing the elevator into position around the part. This arranging of the elevator' around a pipe or casing isoften done When the elevator is in motion and often the gate or door of the elevator is'not properly closed or latche'd. 1n the event that the door or gate ofthe elevator is not securely latched bythe operator, the elevator may engage a pipe coupling or other projecting parton the pipe and raise the pipe some distance and then alloW it to fall to the derrick floor. i

It is a general object of the invention to provide an elevator for handling'well casing, drill pipe, or other Well vdrilling equipment,

in Which't-he door or gate is closed automatically upon the body of the elevator being arranged around the casing or other part to be handled. l

Another object of the invention is to pro- -vide an'elevator 'of the character mentioned in which thel gate or door vvhen in the open position is urged toward the closed position and is held againstshifting to the closed position by a tripfor latchv mechanism Which permits the door to swing shut vonly upon the body of the elevator being positioned around the casing or other part to be handled.

It is another object ofthe invention to provide an elevator of the character mentioned in lwhich theV latch mechanism referred to labove offers but very slight resistance to the' arranging of the body ofthe elevator around ay casing, or the like.

AAnother object of the invention is to provide anl elevator in which the vgate vis normalllyl positively heldopen in a position Where the vbodymay bev easily and readily arranged around a casing.- Y i A further obj ect of the invention is to provide'an elevatorof the `character mentioned lin which the means for automatically closing the gate may be reversed so that it Will operate to open the gate upon the latch'of the elevator being released.

Other objects and featuresof our invention will be best and more fully' understoodfrom the following detailed description ofa typif-l cal form and application of the invention, throughout Which description reference lis had to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a top or plan vievv of an elevator embodying the present invention showing the gate inthe closed position. Fig. 2 is a'side elevation ofthe elevator. Fig. 3 is an en'- larged top or plan View of the elevator .showing the gateinthe open position.y Fig. 4f is an enlarged vertical detailed sectional vieiv taken as indicated by line 4 4 on Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is an enlarged vertical detailed sec tional View taken as indicated by line 5-5 on Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is an enlarged Vertical detailed sectional view taken as indicated by line 6 6 on Fig. 3, and Fig. 7 Vis a detailed transverse sectional view taken as indicated by line 7-7 on Fig. 5. l

The device provided by this invention may be embodied in various types of side door elevators for handling Well drilling equipment and may be yembodied in velevators for' handling various forms of Well drilling equip'- ment such as drillpipe, casing, etc. In the following detailed description I Will describe the invention in connection With a typical side door elevator adapted to handle Well casing. The invention, however, is not to; be considered as limited to the particular form of elevator about to bedescribed or to the particular application referred to,`but is to be taken as including any features or modiications that may fall Within the scope of the claims. l

The invention provides, generally, an elevator having a body section 10 adapted to be arranged aroundv a casing 11, a gate or door section 12, a latch 13 on the elevator forl holding the gate 12 closed aboutthe casing 11, means 14C' for automatically shifting the gate 12 to the closed position and reversible to automatically shift the gate 12 to an open position upon the latch 13 being released, and

trip or latch means 15 normally holding the -l means 14 against operating the gate to the closed position and operable to release the means 14 upon the body 10 of the elevator being arranged around the casing 11.

The body 10 in the particular type of elevator illustrated in the drawings is of substantially U-shaped configuration having an opening 16 extending into it from one side to receive the casing 11. The walls of the opening 16 are preferably curved to conform to the configuration of the casing 11. The upper end or side 17 of the body 10 is preferably made flat to receive a coupling collar 18, or like part, on the casing 11. Bale ears 19 project outwardly from opposite sides of the body 10 to receive bales 20 for carrying the elevator. Y

The door or gate section 12 is pivotally attached to one of the side parts of the body 10 and is in the nature of a closure adapted to extend across the open side of the opening 16. The inner side of the gate 12 is preferably curved to conform to the configuration' of the casing 11. The gate 12 is pivotally attached or mounted on a side part 21 of the body 10 by means of a vertical pivot pin 22. The pivot bolt or pin 22 extends through openings in vertically spaced tongues 23 provided on the side part 21 of the body 10. The pivot bolt 22 is rotatable in the openings 24 of they tongues 23. vertically spaced tongues or lugs 25 are provided on an end oip4 the gate 12 and the pivot bolt 22 is carried by the lugs 25. In the particular case illustrated there is a lug 25 arranged between two spaced tongues 23.01 the body Aand one lug 25 immediately below the lower tongue 23. The j ivot bolt 22 is rigidly secured to the lugs 25. In the form of the invention shown in the drawings pins 26 are screw threaded through openings in the lugs 25 of the gate and extend into traneverse openings in the pivot bolt 22. In accordance with the invention the pivot bolt 22 projects outwardly from the body 10 of the elevator. In the particular case illustrated the pivot bolt 22 has a portion 22'r1 projecting upwardly from the upper side of the body 10. A suitable handle 27 may be provided on the gate 12.

The latch 13 is provided to hold the gate 12 in the closed position about the casing 11. Any suitable form of latch may be embodied in the elevator. In the case shown a latch 28 is pivotally carried on a side part 29 ot the body 10 and is adapted to cooperate with an outwardly projecting lug 30 on the gate 12. A spring 31 may be provided for yieldingly urging the latch A23 into position to cooperate with the projection 30 to hold thegate 12 in the closed position.

The means 14 for urging the gate 12 into the closed position acts to close the gate 12 when the means 15 is released. The means 14 is reversible so that it may be set to shift the gate 12 to the open position when the latch 13 is released. The means 14 includes a helical torsional spring 33 surrounding the upwardly projecting portion of the pivot pin 22a, a nut 34 threaded on the upwardly projectin g portion 22a of the pin 22, and a setting sleeve or member 60 provided to reverse the action of the spring 33. The spring 33 surrounds the portion 22a ot' the pivot pin and is arranged between the nut 34 and the member 60.

The nut 34 is threaded on the upper end of the projecting portion 22a of the pivot bolt. 'Ihe nut 34 may be set or held against rota tion on the bolt by means ot a key 61 extending transversely through the bolt 22 and the nut. The opening in the bolt passing the key 61 may be axially elongated to permit the nut to be adjusted. The nut is provided with a downwardly extending barrel portion 62 surrounding or extending downwardly over a considerable part ot the projecting portion 22:t ot' the pivot bolt and providing a socket 63. The socltet 63 is preferably com` paratively deep and is provided to carry the spring 33.

The member 60 is rotatably mounted on the projecting portion 22a of the pivot bolt immediately adjacent the upper side 17 of the body. It is preferred that the member 60 rest directly on the body of the elevator and that the lower end of the barrel portion 62 of the nut be immediately adjacent the upper side of the member 60. A socket may be provided in the upper side of the member 60 to receive the lowerend of the spring 33. An operating handle or arm 65 projects radially outward from the member 60. The spring 33 is arranged in the socket 63 of the nut 34 and its lower portion seats in the socket of the member 60. The barrel 62 and the member 60 completely' encase the spring 33. The extreme upper end portion of the upper convolution of the spring 33 extends into an opening in the inner end of the socket 63. The extreme lower end of the lower convolution of the spring 33 extends into an opening in the bottom of the socket.

The arm 65 is provided on the member 60 so that the member may be rotated to impart torsional action or strain to the spring 33 in either rotative directions. The invention provides means for releasably setting the arm 65 against movement relative to the body 10. A spring pressed pin 63 is carried by the arm 65 and is adapted to cooperate with an opening 69 in the upper side 17 of the body to releasably hold the member 6() and the arm against movement or rotation. The pin 68 is slidably and vertically arranged in a housing or shell 7 0 on the outer end of the arm 65. The pin 68 projects from the upper end of the shell 70 and may be provided at its upper end with a suitable head. The pin 68 extends through an opening in the arm 65 to normally project intothe opening 69 inthe body. A

suitable spring 71 may. be arranged under' compression Ain the shell to act against a shoulder on the pin 68 to yieldingly urge the pin downward. With the construction just described the pin 68 may be lifted out of the opening 69 and the arm 6 5 may be operated spring may be acted uponfso that it will tend to urge the gate 12' from a closedposition to an open position. It will be obvious that the spring 33 may be formed so that it will develop'or accumulatesuiiicient force or power to properly shift the gate upon the member 60 being turned or rotated but once or avery few times.

The latch means 15 normally holds the gate 12 against movement when it is in the open position and is released so that the'means 14 may operate to shut the gate upon the body 10 of the elevator being arranged around the casingll. The means 15 includes a lever 40 pivotally arranged in a rec-ess 41 in the walls of the opening 16 of the body. The lever 40 is pivotally mounted on a vertical pivot pin 42. A collar 42a is arranged on the pivot pin 42 to hold the lever 40 vagainst longitudinal movementon the pin 42. In the particular case illustrated in the drawings the lever 40 is mounted between the upper end of the collar 42a and the upper wall of the recess 41.

pin 42. The. lever 40 includes an arm 43,y

extending toward the pivot bolt 22, and an arm 44 having a part 45 which normally eX- tends into the'opening 16 of the body.

The endof the arm 43 extends into a recess 46 in one of thelugs 25 of the gate 12 when the gate is in the `open position. rIhe recess 46. provides a substantially radial shoulder 47 and has a wall 48 to cooperate with the end of the arm 45 of the lever 12. The end of the lever arm 43 seats against the ywall 48 of the recess 46 when the gate 12 is open so that the gate 12 is prevented from shifting. The wall 48 of the recess engages the end of the arm 43fin such a manner as to prevent the gate 12 from being shifted to the closed position.

' The part 45 of the arm 44 projects into the opening16 of the body and is adapted to be' engaged by the casing 11. In the preferred' form of the invention the part 45 projects into the opening 16 at 'apoint intermediate the side portions 21 and 29 ofthe body. The lever 40 is mounted so that the end of the arm 43is shifted out of the recess 41 upon thepart 45 of the arm 44 being operated outwardly through engagement with the casing.. 11.

'Ihe invention provides means for normally yieldingly holding the lever 40 iny a position where, the part-45 extendsk into the opening 16.. A coil spring50 maybe arranged under compression betweenthe outerside of the. arm 44 and the body 10. In the preferred form ofthe invention .the spring 50 seats in a socket 51 in the outerv wall of the recess 41 and engagesA the outer side. of the arm 44.

In accordance with the invention optional means is provided for setting or locking the lever 4() in an inoperative position. A screw 3 6 may, be threaded through an opening in the` body 10t0 engage4 the outer. side. of the arm 45. If desired the screw 36` may be operated to a position where it engages the lever 40 to hold the arm 43 free of the tongue 25. of the gate and the` part 45 out of the opening 16. n

In employing the device the means 14 may be set so'that it operates to ujrge the gate 12 from the open'position to the.y closed position or may be rset toshift the gate 12ff'rom the closed position to the open position. 1f it is desired to set the means 14 So that it operates to automatically closet-he gate 12 upon ing 11,'the member 6() is rotated so that the spring 33 will act to impart rotative force to the pin 22 in the proper rotative direction to swing the gate shut. The` force which the spring'k 33 exerts may be varied by ad-A justing the nut 34 or by rotating the member. When the means 14 is adjusted o r set in the manner described and the body 10 is arranged around thecasing 11, the part 45 engages the casing `11 and the lever 40 iS operated. Upon shifting the lever 40 the arm 43 is shifted free of the recess 46 and the spring 33 is permitted to shift the gate 12 to" the closed position. The latch 13 acts to retain the gate 12 in thekclosed position. Thespring 50 automatically returns the le-` ver. 40 to its normal position where the' arm 43 :extends into the recess 46 when the gate is again opened. It is to be noted that the.

lever 4V() acts to hold the gate12r in any open easily arrangedyaroundthe casingrll. It will be seen that 'it is unnecessary to manually swing the gate 12 closed when the means 14 is set to operate as above described. If it is desired to set the means 14 sor that it will operatefto Vautomatically shift the gate 12 to 'a fully opened posit-ion upon t-he latch 13 being released, the member k60 is rotated in andirection to cause the spring 33 to act through the'pivotbolt- 22 to swing the gate 12 outwardly upon they releasing of the latch 13. y l l Having` describedonly a typical preferred form ofour invention, we do not wish to limit ourselves to the specific details set forth, but wish toreserve to ourselves any changes or variations that may appear toV those Skilled in the art or fall within the scope of the following claims.

Having described our invention, we claim: l. An .elevator of the character described 5 including, a body adapted to be arranged around an object, a gate pivotally attached tothe body and adapted to retain an object in the body, a pivot pin connecting the body and gate, and means acting torsionally directly kon the pivot pin for shifting the gate to the closed position.

2. An elevator of the character described including, a body adapted to be arranged around an object, a gate pivotally attached to the body and adapted to retainan object in the body, a. pivot pin connecting the body and gate, and means acting to turn the pivot pin for shifting the gate to the closed position, including a spring connected with the Vpivot pin.

3. An elevator of the character described including, a body adapted to be arranged around an object, a gate pivotally attached to the body and adapted to retain an object in the body, a pivot pin connecting the body and gate, and means acting torsionally to turn the pivot pin for shifting the gate to the closed position including a torsional spring connected to the pivot pin.

4. In an elevator, two sections, one a body, the other a gate, the body section being adapted to be arranged around a casing, a pivot pin connecting the sections and rigidly secured to one section, and means for automatically closing the gate section upon the body section being arranged around a casing including a torsional spring rigidlyconnected with the pivot pin and one of the sections.

5. In an elevator, two sections, one a body, the other a gate, the body section being adapted to be arranged around a casing, a pivot p-in connecting the sections and rigidly secured to one section, and means for automati-A 6. In an elevator, two sections, one a body,

the other a gate,fthe body section being adapted to be arranged around a casing, a pivot pin connecting the sections and rigidly secured to one section, and means for automatically shiftingr the gate section including a torsional spring connected with the pivot pin and one of the sections, and means for reversing the direction of the rotative force eX- erted by the spring.

7. In an elevator, two sections, one a body, the other a gate, the body section being adapted to be arranged around a casing, a pivot pin connect-ing the sections and rigidly secured to one section, and means Vfor auto- 5 maticallyclosing the gate. section upon the for varying the force exerted by the spring.v

body section being arranged around a casing including a member' rotatable on the pivot pin, means for releasably holding the member against movement relative to one of the sections, and a spring connected with the member and the pivot pin.

8. In an elevator, two sections, one a body, the other a gate, the body section being adapted to be arranged around a casing, a pivot pin connecting the sections and rigidly secured to one section, a latch for releasably holding the gate section in the closed position, and means acting on the pin for automatically shifting the gate from the closed position to the open position upon the latch being released.

9. In an elevator, two sections, one a body, the other a gate, the body section being adapted to be arranged around a casing, a pivot pin connecting the sections and rigidly secured to one section, a latch for releasably holding the gate section in the closed position, means acting through the pins for automatically shifting the gate from a closed position to an open position upon the latch being released and means for reversing the action of the firstmentioned means to close the gate upon the body section being arranged around a casing.

10. In an elevator, two sections, one a body, the other a gate, the body section being adapted to be arranged around a casing, a pivot pin connecting the sections and rigidly secured to one section, a latch for releasably holding the gate section in the closed position, and means for automatically shifting the gate from theclosed position to the open position upon the latch being released, including a torsional spring connected with one section and with the pivot pin.

l1. In an elevator, two sections, one a body adapted to be arranged around a casing, the other a gate pivotally connectedV with the body, a spring for automatically shifting the gate from an open to a closedposition, means holding the spring against operation and operable to release the spring for operation upon the body being arranged around a casing, and means for rendering the first mentioned means inoperative.

12. In an elevator, two sections, one a body, the other a gate, the body section being adapted to be arranged around a casing, a pivot pin connecting the ysections and rigidly secured to one section, a latch releasably hold-` lWe have hereunto subscribed our names this 10th day of December, 1929.

JOSEPH G. FITZPATRICK. ROBERT W. yFLINT. 

